A few years ago, I wrote about the crazy Canadian Geese around Boise during nesting season.
They usually settle down after the spring nesting season, but this summer, I've noticed an uptick in goose insanity.
Maybe it's sheer numbers. Their nesting season is prolific these days.
Sometimes, I think they have it out for me and only me.
For example, I was running trails at a reserve near my neighborhood, and as I turned a corner, the path was blocked by geese, with no way around them.
I watched as a walker nonchalantly passed through them, and I thought, "Oh good. They're friendly."
As I slowly jogged toward them, the alpha goose (I presume) hissed and flapped his wings at me. (They attack by charging and hitting at you with the bones in their wings, hence, my apprehension of the goose flapping his wings.)
Another day, I was sitting on a park bench, and a gaggle of geese started to approach. I think their destination was the pond in front of the bench, but their movements slowed as they got closer to me. The goose in front, another alpha I guess, lifted his foot and froze. The geese behind him followed suit.
I wasn't sure if they knew I was there. Maybe they were hunting something in pond? Do geese hunt fish in ponds?
"Ahem," I cleared my throat, just to see if they noticed.
All of a sudden, their heads spun around, and the alpha glared at me. I felt like I was in a horror movie. I got up and slowly backed away from the park bench.
At the Whitewater Park one morning, several adult geese and their goslings completely blocked the exit. I drive a hybrid, and I don't think they could hear my vehicle. I had to wait for a loud delivery truck to pull up behind me before they (very deliberately) waddled out of the way.
Later that day, my husband, Dan, told me he almost hit one while riding his bike home from work.
However, I might have found a solution. While running on the greenbelt, I came across a walker with a tiny dog. The walker was hanging back while the tiny dog scurried ahead . . . and chased all the geese away.
Why aren't geese that scared of me?
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